Dec. 23, 2005
HONOLULU - Aloha from another spectacular day in Honolulu. With the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl less than 24 hours away, the UCF Golden Knights are putting the final touches on their bowl week in Hawaii.
Thursday evening both UCF and Nevada attended the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Kickoff Banquet at the Sheraton Waikiki. The featured speaker was ABC college football analyst Craig James, who is also handling the color commentary for the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on ESPN.
The team had the morning off Friday before going to Outback Steakhouse for lunch.
The meal was another feast for the players - ribs, chicken, salad, mashed potatoes and cheesecake. Following lunch, the team had an hour off in the sun before heading to Aloha Stadium for a walk-thru.
Friday's visit to Aloha Stadium will be the first for UCF. The Golden Knights have practiced all week long at the University of Hawaii while Nevada practiced at Aloha Stadium. Despite not practicing at the stadium, UCF had a much shorter commute to its practice destination every day. With the heavy traffic in Honolulu, the time saved with the short commute gave more time for the players to enjoy the Honolulu weather.
Following Friday's workout, UCF's captains and head coach George O'Leary, along with offensive coordinator Tim Salem and defensive coordinator Lance Thompson will meet with ESPN's announcers at the Sheraton Waikiki.
Friday night, the team will eat dinner, followed by team unit meetings. UCF meets Nevada in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET (3:30 Hawaii time) in its first-ever bowl appearance. ESPN will televise the game live to a national audience. The UCF ISP Sports Network has live pregame coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET. Westwood One radio also has live national coverage of the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.